Southeast to offer 'Teaching: Exceptional Child' master's

A new Master of Arts in Teaching: Exceptional Child program has been approved by Southeast Missouri State University's board of regents and will be offered as an online degree.

The program -- through the Department of Elementary, Early and Special Education in the College of Education -- will be designed for those with an undergraduate degree in a related field, such as communication disorders, psychology or child development, but are not certified as a teacher.

"The area of exceptional child in special education is one that takes a very special person in themselves to be effective in instructing children that have special skills, abilities or challenges," Gerald McDougall, Southeast's interim provost, said Wednesday. "National figures indicate that is a high-growth area nationwide. In Missouri, we reflect that national trend. So, it's an area of significant opportunities."

University officials are still working to determine when the new program will become available to students.

McDougall said the Department of Elementary, Early and Special Education often gets inquiries from people with a non-education undergraduate degree who want to become teachers but do not want to complete a second undergraduate degree. Currently, their only option is alternative certification; however, he says faculty members have found a higher rate of turnover of teachers in the field who earned alternative certification.

The new program will offer cohesive online graduate level coursework and supervised field experiences in special education content and pedagogy with two options for certification: early childhood special education (birth through third grade) and mild/moderate cross-categorical (kindergarten through 12th grade).

Candidates must pass appropriate state-level content assessments for the certifications.

No additional budget or resources are needed for the new program, according to Southeast. Existing graduate courses in the Master of Arts in Exceptional Child and Elementary Education programs will be used, and department faculty will teach the courses.

"Special education is a shortage field," Diana Rogers-Adkinson, dean of the Southeast's College of Education, said in a news release. "This program allows folks to become certified by not just taking coursework and piecing classes together. This gives them a degree that aligns them with mandates and brings them in at a higher pay scale."

Employment of special education teachers is expected to grow 6 percent from 2012 to 2022, according to a job outlook report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The employment growth of special education teachers will vary by type; however, overall demand will be driven by increasing enrollment and continued need for special education services.

Better screening and identification of various disabilities in children are expected to increase the demand for special education services, the report says, with a predicted 16 percent increase in demand for early childhood special education teachers.

In addition, children with disabilities are being identified earlier and enrolled into special education programs, increasing the need for special education teachers in preschool and kindergarten grades.

The report also addresses job prospects, saying many job opportunities will stem from the need to replace teachers who leave the occupation each year.

"Because helping students with disabilities can be quite stressful -- emotionally demanding and physically draining -- many schools have difficulties recruiting and retaining special education teachers," the report states. "As a result, special education teachers should have good job opportunities."

Job opportunities may be even better in parts of the country with higher enrollment rates, such as in the South, West and rural areas, according to the report.

"We have a lot of small, rural school districts and this is going to allow us to prepare and increase the number of students in this area," McDougall said.

klamb@semissourian.com

388-3639

Pertinent address:

1 University Plaza, Cape Girardeau, Mo.